How to get a freighter in No Man’s Sky

Freighters in No Man’s Sky are large space vessels that are capable of storing multiple starships and serve as a massive storage area for the wide array of resources that you run into and collect in No Man’s Sky. Moreover, Freighters make it possible for players to own Frigates and send them on missions. Frigates are larger than starships and are primarily designed for embarking on a variety of missions including exploration, combat, and trade.

Freighters in No Man’s Sky are also useful for building your squadron, which is essential if you’re interested in taking on fights in space, and do not want to bow down to rogue pirates. Your squadron consists of pilots you’ve met and recruited in your journey and they show up to your aid whenever you are under attack, providing decent backup.

There’s no set trick for obtaining a Freighter in No Man’s Sky. There is also no dedicated shop or area where you will find a Freighter in the game. However, there is a way for players to get a Freighter for free in No Man’s Sky. When you rescue a freighter for the first time in the game from pirates, you have the option to onboard the Freighter and talk to the Captain who will offer you the command of the Freighter for free.

If you somehow missed out on this, that’s fine. When you rescue another Freighter, you will still have the option to claim it for free. However, once you have a Freighter, saving future Freighters will not give you the option to claim for free.

Finding a Freighter in No Man’s Sky simply requires players to jump from one star system to another and explore space without landing on planets to trigger an encounter with a Freighter. You may encounter a Freighter at any given point really, whether it’s when you’re coming out of the Space Anomaly, out of a Space Station, or leaving the atmosphere of a planet and heading back to space. Since it’s down to chance, your best bet is to jump star systems, as that sometimes triggers the arrival of a Freigher as soon as you reach there.

Once you find a Freighter that can be boarded, simply talk to the Captain inside and choose the option to purchase the Freighter which will cost you units.